Simulated gun and target which is struck from behind to indicate correctness of aim

ABSTRACT

A toy shooting range includes a gun which is movable so that it can be aimed at a target and a striker pin located behind the target. The gun and the striker pin are mechanically coupled so that aiming movements of the gun are translated in corresponding movements of the striker pin. Firing of the gun actuates the striker so as to mark the target at a point corresponding to the aiming of the gun.

United States Patent 51 Int.Cl............,.

[72] inventor Alfred Eintalt Nurnberg,Germany 6,364

Field [21] Appl.No. [22] Filed Jan. 28, 1970 [45] Patented Nov. 16, i971 [73] Assignee Gebruder Einfalt, Biechspielwareni'abrik Nurnberg, Germany Aug. 6, 1966 Germany 449, l 2 3 Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Marvin Siskind Attorney-Hana, Baxley & Spiecens [32] Priorities Nov. 4, 1966, Germany, No. P 15 78 283.9; Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 647,972, June 22, 1967, now abandoned. This application Jan. 28, I970, Ser. No. 006,364

ABSTRACT: A toy shooting range includes a gun which is movable so that it can be aimed at a target and a striker pin located behind the target. The gun and the striker pin are [54] SIMULATED GUN AND TARGET WHICH IS mechanically coupled so that aiming movements of the gun STRUCK FROM BEHIND TO INDICATE are translated in corresponding movements of the striker pin. CORRECTNESS or AIM Firing of the gun actuates the striker so as to mark the target at a point corresponding to the aiming of the gun.

5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

SIMULATED GUN AND TARGET WHICH IS STRUCK FROM BEHIND TO INDICATE CORRECTNESS OF AIM The present application is a continuation-in-part application based upon my copending application Ser. No. 647,972, filed June 22, 1967, since abandoned.

The invention relates to a shooting range including a target and a gun which can be aimed at the target, firing of the gun marking the target at the point corresponding to the aiming of the gun.

BACKGROUND There are known toy shooting ranges including a gun which when fired propels a projectile at the target. Such toy in the hands of a young child may cause accidental damage or injury even if the velocity of the projectile is comparatively low and the projectile is blunted and made of comparatively soft material.

There are also known toy shooting ranges including a gun which can be aimed at a target but does not propel a projectile when fired. Instead, the gun activates a striker pin which is coupled with the gun and the position of which is controlled by the aiming movements of the gun so as to mark the target at a point in accordance with the aiming of the gun. However, shooting range toys of this kind as heretofore known are complex and expensive. Moreover, they tend to be less accurate than is desirable.

THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a novel and improved toy shooting range of the kind simulating the hitting of the target without actually firing a projectile at the same.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved toy shooting range which permits accurate aiming of the gun and corresponding marking of the target by a simple, safe and inexpensive mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The aforepointed out objects, features and advantages, and other objects, features and advantages which will be pointed out hereinafter and are set forth in the appended claims, are obtained by supporting a simulated firearm and a target on opposite ends of an elongate base. The firearm is so mounted that it can be aimed upon any selected point of the target. A striker pin is disposed behind the target and can be moved into and out of marking engagement with the same. The firing mechanism of the toy comprises a trigger pivotally mounted on the firearm, and a push rod which is lengthwise displaceable relative to the base and coacts at one end with the striker pin assembly. The other end of the rod is linked to the firearm by a lever. This lever is releasably coupled to the trigger by a link which is released from the trigger when the same is pulled through a predetermined distance. A spring is interposed between the lever and the trigger. Initial displacement of the trigger causes displacement of the push rod away from the striker pin by pivoting the lever via the link in one direction and also loads the spring. Continued pulling of the trigger releases the link thereby freeing the spring for abruptly propelling the lever in opposite direction. Such abrupt pivoting of the lever propels the push rod against the striker pin assembly thereby forcing the same into marking engagement with the target plate. The lever may be a two-arm lever. The link is hinged at one end to one arm of the lever and has at its other end a hook engaging the trigger when the latter is in its position of rest; the other arm of the lever being hinged to the rod.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the accompanying drawing a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an elevational, partly sectional, view of a toy shooting range according to the invention, the components of the range being shown in the inactive position; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of FIG. 1, showing the range in an intermediate operational position.

Referring now to the figures more in detail, the exemplified toy shooting range comprises three assemblies, namely, a firing assembly 90; a target assembly 91, and a transmission assembly 92.

The firing assembly 90 comprises a gun 49 which is shown in the form of a hand weapon including a barrel 53 with a foresight or bead 53a, a grip or butt 54 and a trigger mechanism 56, which will be more fully described hereinafter. The gun body may be made of sheet metal or of plastic; the specific structure of the gun body does not constitute part of the invention.

The transmission assembly 92 comprises a carrier in the form of a two-arm level 43. The lever may have a channeled cross section with the open side of the channel facing upwardly. The lever is suspended by a suitable and conventional universal suspension or coupling in a base in the form of a housing 45. This suspension is shown as comprising a pin 44 which passes through aligned holes 44a in the side branches of channeled lever 43. The peripheral outlines of the holes define a considerably larger area than the cross-sectional outline of pin 44 so that there is play permitting pivotal movement of the lever relative to the housing. The coupling or suspension is so located that a short lever arm 46 and a long lever arm 47 are formed. The housing may be made of sheet metal or plastic; it preferably has a substantially rectangular cross section and may be tapered toward its end facing the gun, as it is clearly shown in FIG. 1. An opening 85 in the end wall facing the gun pennits passage of lever arm 46 and also a pivotal movement of the lever within the housing. The bottom side of the housing is preferably open and may be braced by a cross member 86.

Lever 43 accommodates in its channel a push rod which is guided in the lever by guides 48 at each end of the lever. These guides permit lengthwise displacement of the push rod but restrain pivotal movement of the rod relative to the lever.

Gun 49 coacts with the short lever arm 46 while the long arm 47 of the lever coacts with target assembly 91, and more specifically, with an impact plate 51 and a striker plate 79 included in this assembly, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

Reverting now to firing assembly 90, butt 54 of the gun is extended to form a sleeve 55 of substantially rectangular cross section into which short lever arm 46 extends. The tripping mechanism 56 of the gun is mounted on a plate 57 which in turn is mounted within the body of the gun. It comprises a trigger 58, a coupling link 59, a two-arm lever 60 and a coil spring 61. The trigger is pivotal about a pin 62 on plate 57 and is biased into this inactive or rest position by the coil spring 61. One end of the spring abuts against a wall portion 63 of the trigger to urge the same into engagement with a stop 64 on plate 57 and the other end of the spring engages arm 74a of lever 60 to urge the lever into engagement with a stop 73 on plate 57. The spring may be held in position by a stud 72. The trigger has a body portion 65 formed with two abutment surfaces 66 and 67. Surface 66, which is in the form of a pointed nose, is engageable with a hook 68 on one end of coupling link 59. The other end of the link terminates in an eyelet 69 which is engaged by a hook 70 at the end of an arm 74a of lever 60.

The lever is pivotal about a pin 7! on plate 57 and is biased by spring 61 against the stop 73 on plate 57 when the trigger 58 is in its inactive position as shown in FIG. 1. The second lever arm 74 is linked to the respective end of push rod 50 so that the rod can swivel relative to lever 60, but cannot be lengthwise displaced relative to lever arm 74.

Referring now to target assembly 91, impact plate 51 is pivotal about a pin 76 supported on one end of a bracket the other end of which is secured to the arm 47 of lever 43. The impact plate protrudes with its lower end 77 below the adjacent end of rod 50 so that end 77 of the rod when displaced toward the right will impact against the lower end of plate 51. The striker plate 79 of the plate supports striker pin 52. The pin, which is pointed, is preferably so located that it is in substantially horizontal alignment with the foresight 53a when the gun barrel 53 is substantially horizontally positioned. A leaf 5 spring 80 secured to bracket 75 is biased to urge plate 51 and hence striker pin 52 away from astationarily mounted target plate 8. The target plate is held in a mounting frame shown as comprising two parallel plates 81 including windows 82 and 83. Window 82 serves to expose the target side facing the gun and window 83 makes the target accessible for striker pin 52 so that thesame can impact against the target at a point corresponding'to the aiming of the gun. The target plate should be visualized as being made of a material thin and soft enough to be pierced or otherwise marked by the impact of the striker pin when the same is propelled against the target plate, as will be described hereinafter. The front side of the target, that is, the side facing the gun, may be visualized as bearing suitable markings such as several concentric circles of decreasing diameters to which are assigned different values. Of course, pictures such as figures of an animal or a human may also be exhibited on the target, or the target may represent the outline of such figures.

To increase the aiming accuracy, the mounting frame for the target and thus the target itself are preferably slightly slanted toward the gun.

The toy shooting range as hereinbefore described, operates as follows:

Let it be assumed that a playing child has aimed the gun upon the target by gripping the butt 54 and tilting the gun as desired. As is apparent, for instance a downward tilting of the gun will pull the striker pin correspondingly lower with reference to the target 8 via lever43 pivoting about pin 44, as previously described. When now the trigger 58 is pulled in the direction of arrow 84, hook 68 moves in clockwise direction thereby pulling link 59 toward the right. As a result, lever 60 is turned in clockwise direction against the action of spring 61 thereby loading spring 61 and pulling actuating rod 50 toward the left and thus away from impact plate 51. In other words, movement of link 59 toward the right produces displacement of rod 50 in opposite direction, namely toward the left. The turning of lever 60 also loads spring 61.

When the trigger is pulled into the position of FIG. 2, the abutment surface 67 on trigger portion 65 begins to press against link 59 from below thereby eventually disengaging hook 68 of link 59 from pointed abutment surface 66 of the trigger. As a result, spring 61 is released and will snap lever 60 in counterclockwise direction against stop 73. This abrupt turning of the lever propels rod 50 toward the right so that end 77 impacts against plate 51 at the bottom end thereof. The resulting turning of impact plate 51 propels striker pin 52 against target 8 from the rear side thereof thereby marking the target in accordance with the aiming of the gun. When the trigger is now released, spring 61 acting against wall portion 63 of trigger portion 65 returns the trigger and thus all other components of the trigger mechanism into the position of FIG. 1. Moreover, leaf spring 80 acting against impact plate 51 returns the same into the position of FIG. 1 in which the striker point is again separated from the target.

The toy is now ready for another aiming and firing of the gun.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a certain now preferred example and embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy target shooting range comprising in combination:

an elongate base;

a target assembly including a target plate secured at one end of said base in a substantially upright position;

a simulated firearm;

a mounting means supported by the base and movably supporting the firearm adjacent to the other end of the base for aiming the firearm at any selected point on the target plate;

a striker pin assembly including a striker pin disposed behind the target plate as seen from the firearm and movably supported for movement into and out of marking engagement with the target plate, and spring means biasing the striker pin assembly out of marking engagement; and

a firing mechanism comprising a trigger pivotally mounted on a body portion of the firearm, a push rod supported by said base lengthwise displaceably relative thereto, one end of the rod being engageable with said striker pin assembly, a lever pivotally supported at an intermediate point by the firearm and linked at one end to the other end of the push rod, a link releasably coupling the other lever end to said trigger, said link being releasable by engagement with the trigger, and a force storage means interposed between said other lever end and said trigger, pivoting of the trigger by pulling the same causing initial displacement of the push rod away from the striker pin assembly by pivoting said lever via said link in one direction and also loading of the storage means and continued pivoting of the trigger releasing said link by engagement of the trigger therewith there'by freeing the storage means for abruptly pivoting the lever in opposite direction, said abrupt pivoting of the lever propelling the push rod against the striker pin assembly thus forcing the same into marking engagement with the target plate against the action of the spring means.

2. The target shooting range according to claim 1 wherein said link is hinged at one end to said other lever end and having at the other end a hook releasably retained by a nose on the trigger in a rest position of the trigger, and wherein said storage means comprises a spring abutting against the lever and the trigger to bias the lever into the pivotal position holding the push rod out of engagement with the striker pin assembly and the trigger into said rest position.

3. The target shooting range according to claim 2 wherein said trigger has an abutment surface'which is out of engagement with said link in the rest position of the trigger and moved into engagement therewith upon pivoting of the trigger through a predetermined angle, said engagement forcing the hook on the link out of engagement with the nose of the trigger thereby freeing the lever for pivoting in said opposite direction by the action of the spri g.

4. The target shooting range according to claim I wherein said mounting means comprises an elongate carrier, one end of the carrier mounting the fireann and the other the striker pin assembly, and a universal coupling means mounted on the base intermediate the ends thereof for swiveling of the carrier relative to the base, said push rod being supported by the carrier lengthwise displaceable relative thereto. v

5. The target shooting range according to claim 4 wherein said striker pin assembly comprises an impact plate, a bracket secured to said other end of the carrier, an intermediate point of said impact plate being hinged to said bracket, one end portion of the impact plate mounting the striker pin engageable with the target plate to mark the same and the other end portion being disposed adjacent to said one end of the push rod for engagement therewith, said spring means of the striker pin assembly being supported by the carrier and biasing the impact plate into the position in which said pin is out of engagement with the target plate.

il l l i i 

1. A toy target shooting range comprising in combination: an elongate base; a target assembly including a target plate secured at one end of said base in a substantially upright position; a simulated firearm; a mounting means supported by the base and movably supporting the firearm adjacent to the other end of the base for aiming the firearm at any selected point on the target plate; a striker pin assembly including a striker pin disposed behind the target plate as seen from the firearm and movably supported for movement into and out of marking engagement with the target plate, and spring means biasing the striker pin assembly out of marking engagement; and a firing mechanism comprising a trigger pivotally mounted on a body portion of the firearm, a push rod supported by said base lengthwise displaceably relative thereto, one end of the rod being engageable with said striker pin assembly, a lever pivotally supported at an intermediate point by the firearm and linked at one end to the other end of the push rod, a link releasably coupling the other lever end to said trigger, said link being releasable by engagement with the trigger, and a force storage means interposed between said other lever end and said trigger, pivoting of the trigger by pulling the same causing initial displacement of the push rod away from the striker pin assembly by pivoting said lever via said link in one direction and also loading of the storage means and continued pivoting of the trigger releasing said link by engagement of the trigger therewith thereby freeing the storage means for abruptly pivoting the lever in opposite direction, said abrupt pivoting of the lever propelling the push rod against the striker pin assembly thus forcing the same into marking engagement with the target plate against the action of the spring means.
 2. The target shooting range according to claim 1 wherein said link is hinged at one end to said other lever end and having at the other end a hook releasably retained by a nose on the trigger in a rest position of the trigger, and wherein said storage means comprises a spring abutting against the lever and the trigger to bias the lever into the pivotal position holding the push rod out of engagement with the striker pin assembly and the trigger into said rest position.
 3. The target shooting range according to claim 2 wherein said trigger has an abutment surface which is out of engagement with said link in the rest position of the trigger and moved into engagement therewith upon pivoting of the trigger through a predetermined angle, said engagement forcing the hook on the link out of engagement with the nose of the trigger thereby freeing the lever for pivoting in said opposite direction by the action of the spring.
 4. The target shooting range according to claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises an elongate carrier, one end of the carrier mounting the firearm and the other the striker pin assembly, and a universal coupling means mounted on the base intermediate the ends thereof for swiveling of the carrier relative to the base, said push rod being supported by the carrier lengthwise displaceable relative thereto.
 5. The Target shooting range according to claim 4 wherein said striker pin assembly comprises an impact plate, a bracket secured to said other end of the carrier, an intermediate point of said impact plate being hinged to said bracket, one end portion of the impact plate mounting the striker pin engageable with the target plate to mark the same and the other end portion being disposed adjacent to said one end of the push rod for engagement therewith, said spring means of the striker pin assembly being supported by the carrier and biasing the impact plate into the position in which said pin is out of engagement with the target plate. 